Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III delivers the keynote address during the 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Dec. 4, 2021. DoD Photo
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is warning Congress that an extended stopgap bill to keep the government funded would have “enormous” effects on the Pentagon. Read More
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) transits the Philippine Sea to Guam for a port visit on Nov. 11, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Department of Defense on Monday announced the completion of its Global Posture Review, which offers few changes in force lay down and includes a series of previously announced troop movements. Read More
Retiring Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller holds an American flag that was presented to him, at U.S. Southern Command headquarters, Doral, Fla., on Oct. 29, 2021. DoD Photo
Upholding human rights and the rule of law are key tenets in building professionalism in the armed forces across Southern Command, the outgoing commander said in his farewell speech on Friday. Read More
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie commander, U.S. Central Command, provides testimony at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ending the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29, 2021. DoD Photo
The sprawling size of the U.S. airbase at Bagram and its isolation from Kabul meant that keeping it under American control was “untenable under the situation” once President Joe Biden ordered all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command’s top officer told a House panel Wednesday. Read More
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander, United States Central Command appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Sept. 28, 2021. DoD Photo
If Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden had chosen to ignore the dates set for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, it would have meant moving elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps into the land-locked country to hold Bagram Air Base and Kabul, and renewed fighting that would have endangered American forces, citizens and Afghans, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress today. Read More
The following is the Congressional Budget Office report, An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2022 Shipbuilding Plan. Read More
Chinese DF-5B Nuclear Weapons. People’s Liberation Army Photo
The speed of China’s “unprecedented nuclear modernization” and its “build-out of a modernized triad” is the biggest concern for the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as he nears the end of his tenure. Read More
Vice President Kamala Harris visits the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16), Aug. 23, 2021. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR – The United States will stand with its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region against any threats to the rules-based order, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a swing through the region this week. Read More
Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) search luggage during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 18, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
Troops from NATO member states, including the U.S., U.K. and France, are all working in Kabul to remove citizens and Afghans eligible for resettlement out of the country. But there isn’t a coordinated effort between the allies to communicate with the Taliban or ensure people get to the Hamid Karzai International Airport safely, Pentagon officials acknowledged on Thursday. Read More
Carlos Del Toro, a former surface warfare officer and destroyer commander, was sworn in as the 78th secretary of the Navy late Monday. Read More
